Monster Hunter Wilds Switch 2 Demo and Preorders Now Live

The Switch 2 version of Monster Hunter Wilds doesn’t arrive until December 4, but anyone with the console can start hunting today through a free Prologue Demo that Capcom released on the Nintendo eShop alongside digital preorders. The demo covers the opening of the game through Chapter 1-3, “To the Forest,” including character creation for both your Hunter and Palico, an early look at the story, and hunts in the Windward Plains. Save data carries over to the full game once it launches. Like the demo that arrived on PlayStation 5, XBOX Series X|S, and PC in August, online multiplayer isn’t available, though the Switch 2 demo supports local wireless play for up to four hunters.

Preordering the Standard Edition on the eShop by December 3 gets you the base game for $29.99 through an early adopter discount, down from the $39.99 Capcom cut the game to over the summer. Digital preorders also come with the Guild Knight Set layered armor and Hope Charm talisman as bonuses. The physical Deluxe Edition, which includes the base game on a game-key card and a voucher for the Deluxe Pack cosmetics, is available for preorder at retailers for $39.99. There’s also a digital Gold Edition for $79.99 that bundles the base game with the Cosmetic DLC Collection, with the full breakdown available on Capcom’s Monster Hunter Wilds product page.

Whichever version you pick up, the Switch 2 release includes all the free Title Update content released on the other platforms, so the Grand Hub, Mizutsune, Lagiacrus, Seregios, the elder dragon Gogmazios, the Final Fantasy XIV collaboration, and the additional challenges will all be there from day one. Cross-play is supported too, so Switch 2 hunters can join online multiplayer with players on PlayStation 5, XBOX Series X|S, and PC.

When Capcom confirmed the Switch 2 version in June, I said performance was the main question, considering how much trouble the game had on far stronger hardware at launch. In my review, I ended up disabling DLSS on my PC just to stop the crashes. Capcom’s performance chart for the Switch 2 version, published in September, targets 30 FPS in every mode: 1536 x 864 in handheld, and in TV mode either 2240 x 1260 when prioritizing resolution or 1920 x 1080 when prioritizing frame rate. Ray tracing is disabled in all three modes, and those resolutions are output targets rather than fixed internal rendering resolutions. The game can lower its rendering resolution and use upscaling under heavier loads, and Capcom also notes that the frame rate may drop in some demanding situations, a caveat it applies to every version of the game. Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance, the expansion due in 2027, is also coming to Switch 2 alongside PlayStation 5, XBOX Series X|S, and PC.